Marketing is a managerial art and philosophy that aims at revealing consumer needs and fulfilling them by offering the appropriate product, at the right time and in the right place. Marketing is not only the process of selling the good but also the process of spreading awareness about it. Any activity that increases the outreach of the product falls under marketing. Where sales capitalize on meeting the demand of a market that desires your product, marketing is the process of growing that demand in the first place.
The Marketing Mix is the collection of actions or tactics that you employ to promote your brand or product in the market. This worksheet is structured to help identify the value that your product or service offers to consumers. It allows you to step into the shoes of the consumer and understand their needs by addressing the seven Ps:
- Product
- Place
- Price
- Promotion
- People
- Process
- Physical Environment
Why this tool?
This tool helps to clarify your customer needs and helps you to think of how to improve a company’s current or future offering. Identifying and organizing the components of a company's marketing mix enables you to make successful marketing decisions at every level. These decisions assist your business in developing its strengths and limiting its weaknesses.
How to use this tool?
The 7 aspects of the marketing mix can be utilized to help you decide how to launch a new marketing strategy. To define or optimize your marketing mix, address each of the following steps.
Step 1: Product
The Product is a good and service combination that the company provides to its target market, which includes a range of product mix, features, branding, designs, packaging, sizes, and services. Understanding your consumers' wants and desires is critical to your company's success.
Your product or service must be appealing to your target clients, fill a specific need, and preferably result in many, repeated purchases. You must guarantee that there is a need for your product and state what makes it unique. No matter how excellent you believe your product is, if no one wants to buy it, no amount of marketing can persuade them to do so.
Simple, low-cost market testing will assist you to determine if there is a need at an early stage by answering a few basic questions:
- Is there a market/desire for your product?
- Is there a satisfactory demand for the product?
Step 2: Place
The place is the choice of the location for the distribution of products and services. The Place is influenced by the target market. Therefore, you must recognize the locations where your target audience is. Consider the kind of retail stores and online platforms that your target customers visit frequently. If your product is sold in a physical place, ensure that it is available in the neighborhoods where your consumer base lives and in the stores where they buy. If you sell a product online, make sure that clients in your target market shop at the e-commerce platforms where you are listed. Don’t try to bring your customers to you, and go to where your customers are; it’s much easier. Here are some simple questions to ask yourself to find the right place:
- Where is your customer?
- Which outlets (online and offline) sell your product?
- Which distribution channels are currently working for you?
- Do you sell directly to businesses or consumers?
- Do you sell directly to your end customer or do you have to go through middlemen?
- Where are your competitors?
Step 3: Price
Price is the value that is sacrificed in exchange for a product. The price of a product should reflect its value to customers. Pricing is one of the main elements of the marketing mix because it generates revenue. Your company's pricing strategy must be in line with its overall goal. Your pricing strategy will determine whether you want to penetrate the market or just skim over it.
Skimming: means setting a high price before other competitors come into the market to maximize profit. (ex: new iPhone).
Penetration: You sacrifice the profit to gain more market share and maximize brand loyalty in a short time.
Pricing decisions should be made with caution since they are a double-edged sword. If your product is overpriced, it may convey a sense of great quality. At the same time, it will allow you to place your product in limited and conventional retailers. As a result, you must master the skill of pricing. Some questions you should ask before determining the price:
- What would be the lowest price you are willing to sell your product for?
- What would be the highest price that consumers would be willing to pay?
- How sensitive to price are your customers?
- What prices do current leaders in your niche charge?
- How does your price compare to the competition?
Step 4: Promotion
Promotion is a set of activities that aims to communicate a certain message to the target audience. It aims to accomplish two things. It informs potential buyers about your goods, and it persuades them to purchase them. As a result, the promotion mix will comprise a variety of methods for communicating with the target audience.
In addition, your promotion strategy will include prospective platforms in your specialty where your company's items might be promoted and even sold. Consider specialty marketplaces or social media.
The main tools of promotion are:
- Public Relations: A set of activities aiming at creating a strong credible relationship with different stakeholders. For example, you can promote your product through press releases, business events, greeting cards, event sponsoring, dinner invitations, newsletters, etc.
- Sales Promotions A set of activities that aim at increasing the value received by the buyer. e.g., discounts, vouchers, and promo codes.
- Advertising: A set of activities that use media channels to promote the products and services. There are three types of media:
- Audio: e.g., promoting the company on the radio
- Visual: All printed readable promotions such as billboards and printed newspapers.
- Audio Visual: e.g., promoting your company or products on television.
- Online & Social Media Marketing: The ability to connect with customers online and via social media. You can use the platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
- Direct marketing: such as direct mailing, telemarketing, and email marketing
- Personal Selling: Face-to-face marketing. It enables you to listen to prospective or existing customer needs and to convey the ethos and values of your business.
Before starting any promotional activity, you need to be clear:
- Who is my audience?
- What message do I want to communicate?
- What is the best way to communicate with them?
- What budget do I have?
- What measures will I use to know if I have been successful?
Step 5: People
Customers are the very reason for your company's existence. Meeting their requirements is your task, and their satisfaction is your ultimate reward.
You need to always portray a positive image of your company’s values and keep your customers happy. Customer care and aftersales should be a priority to build your brand and ensure customer loyalty. In time, you might want to invest in CRM (customer relationship management) and lead generation software to help you keep track of existing and potential customers. Project and task management tools can help get your team organized and help keep track of projects and defined tasks. If appropriate, you can share information with clients, helping to build good working relationships.
Step 6: Process
How you deliver your product or service will affect the customer. From supplying product information, providing a quotation, taking an order, availing of stock, to delivering and tracking products and services, each interaction or touchpoint is an opportunity to make a good or bad impression. Having high standards of customer care that are regularly monitored and reviewed will help you deal effectively with any issues or complaints.
Step 7: Physical Environment
Your workplace must set the right impression on your customers, suppliers, and staff. If the business appears shabby and untidy then potential customers may be put off. If customers have access to your premises, then ensure that public areas reflect the values and character of your business. You should also manage your image including updating your website. Having simple rules for any company promotional material – whether printed or electronic – should ensure a consistent brand image. This could include standardizing the position of your logo, company name, corporate colors, and typeface used for all materials.
Case Study:
Ria wants to start her coffee shop in Egypt. She began using the marketing mix tool to make successful marketing decisions and to become more competitive and successful in the market.
Product:
First, she researched and observed that there is a high demand for coffee shops in the Egyptian market. She noticed that coffee drinking is an important social occasion for Egyptians, at all levels of society. In many cases, a coffee house becomes a kind of literary circle or political club, but with a peaceful, comfortable ambiance.
Place:
She observed the venues that her target audience would visit. She decided to open her first coffee shop in a place close to universities and business parks where there is a high demand for coffee among students as well as business professionals.
Price:
After selecting where to locate the shop, she began to examine the pricing of her coffee products. She chose to set a pricing range of $2 to $2.50 for a cup of coffee on average, as she discovered that it is a reasonable price for students and businessmen with typical starting salaries, allowing her to target as many customers as possible.
Promotion:
After deciding on pricing, she realized that her coffee shop needs to be recognized by students and employees, so she began to handle promotions. She created a special discount for nearby university students to encourage them to visit frequently. Not only that, but she also decided to collect customer data to know how many people come together, what time they make their visit, and how frequently they do that. Analyzing those data, she prepared a discount coupon for the most frequent customers. Using this strategy, she believed she can have higher sales, increase customer loyalty, and gain more profits. Furthermore, she chose to become more active on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram and to market her shop and make more people aware of it.
People & Process:
Rita started paying more attention to her staff as they are the shop's backbone. She established an “Employee of the Month” program to incentivize her staff and improve their performance. She also started a simple customer care program that enabled her to listen to her customers, review their evaluation forms more regularly, and compensate them for any unpleasant experience.
Physical Environment:
Rita decided to hire a professional designer to improve the physical atmosphere of the place. She wanted to build an effective and coherent place that expresses her vision. So, she consulted experts regarding the furnishings, lighting fixtures, and shop layout.
Furthermore, Rita wanted to communicate her eco-friendly business values to her customers so she made recyclable cups available for takeaway orders.
Now, Rita has her marketing mix in place, and she’s ready to execute her marketing strategy.
Hints:
Marketing mix can be used to either assess existing factors or identify missing factors that need to be implemented.
Click on the attachment below to download a reminder of the 7ps marketing mix.
Be the first one to comment
Please log in or sign up to comment.